Difference between being Catholic and being Christian?

Question

What's the difference?

Answer 1

Catholics ARE CHRISTIANS!!!!! I think you mean the difference between Catholics and Protestants!!

Catholics were the FIRST Christians, all other Christian faiths branched from the Roman Catholic Church. It was the Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century AD that adopted Christianity as the Roman empire's main faith over their former pagan gods.

What made you think a Catholic was not a Christian?

Answer 2

Most of the Catholics that are offended by the implication that Catholic and Christian are different live in the USA where Catholics are not the dominate religion as they are in Latin America where the Catholic church is dominate. There Catholics are quite comfortable with the implication that there is a significant difference between Catholic and "Christian". The "double standard" in the Catholic position is clearly evident to any Protestant that has ever been on a mission trip to Latin America. Since almost every protestant congregation in the USA has at least one person that has done such a trip, I suggest you ask them if this isn't true.

Answer 3

There are some differences between protestant beliefs and Roman Catholicism. (see www.gotquestions.org) Some have to do with the understanding of sacraments. Other things have to do with the doctrine of Justification, praying to Mary and the saints etc. Catholics have a doctrine of faith PLUS works, in which one is infused with grace and tries to become holy enough to get into heaven. If they do not do it in this life, they work on it further in purgatory. Most Prostantant faiths say we are justified fully by what Chist did on the cross and his resurrection. (Eph. 2:8-9) Much of what was argued in the 1500's between Lutherans and the Roman Catholic Church still is at odds today. (See The Apology of the Augsburg Confession). Some Lutheran denominations (ELCA) have signeed a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. Frankly, it is simply a lie. They agreed to agree, even though none of the differences have really been settled.
So, to answer your question...There are Christians in the Roman Catholic Church, but there is also doctrine that many people feel is NOT in harmony with Scripture. The question is how far off does one have to be to not be a Christian? By the way, the only "Church" per the current Pope, is the Roman Catholic church. All others are not churches. Also, those that do not subscribe to the Roman Catholic teachings of faith plus works are still under the anathema (Dammed to hell with no hope of salvation) curse of the Council of Trent.

Answer 4

While there are some glaring theological differences between Roman Catholics and evangelical Christians, I think there remains a hope of finding some common ground when serving God's people.

However, Pope Benedict XVI (The current Pope said in July of this year that if you are not Catholic, you are not part of the church. Perhaps a better question would have been What makes Catholicism unique in the "Christian World?"

Answer 5

The Christian faith is divided into three primary branches: Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox.

So to ask what is the difference between Catholic and Christian is like asking "what is the difference between a BMW and a car?"

A BMW is a kind of car.

A Catholic is a type of Christian. . .

. . .at least as far as 99% of the world is concerned. . . Christians and non-Christians.

There is a very small number of fundamentalist Protestant Christians who have decided that they and only they are "Christians." They will assure you that Catholics are not Christians. The Orthodox are not Christians. Mainline Protestants are not Christians. Only they are the true Christians.

This is really very sad. But they don't really bother anybody, since there's so few of them.

Answer 6

Catholic church is considered a Christian church.(ask them and they will tell you they are the only true Christians), but there are some major differences between Catholics and other Christians (commonly referred to as Protestants).

Any church who recognizes Jesus as Son of God who died on a cross to save us from our sins and was resurrected, and who believes in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (the holy trinity) is considered a Christian church.

However, some of the things that make Catholics different are that they recognize a man, the Pope as head of the church. They also pray to people other than God. They pray to saints and Mary, mother of Jesus. They also have a lot of other man-made rules that they follow that aren't in the Bible. They also believe in things that aren't in the Bible, like purgatory.

By following all of these man made rules, and being ritualistic in one's worship of God, a true personal relationship with God can get lost in the mix. This is why I left the Catholic church. I wanted more of God than what I was able to get at my Catholic church.

The church I go to now only does something if it is backed up by scripture, and there are many Christian churches that do that.

I do believe that there are some Catholics that have a personal relationship with Jesus and are true Christians. But I think the environment in a Catholic church makes that difficult.

Answer 7

"What separates us as believers in Christ is much less than what unites us." (Pope John XXIII)

Almost all important doctrine is completely agreed upon between Catholic Christians and other Christians.

Here is the joint declaration of justification by Catholics (1999), Lutherans (1999), and Methodists (2006):

By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works.

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_31101999_cath-luth-joint-declaration_en.html

There are many minor doctrine issues and some major cultural traditional differences which, I believe, do not matter that much.

A Catholic worships and follows Christ in the tradition of Catholicism which, among other things, recognizes that Christ made Peter the leader of His new Church and Pope Benedict XVI is Peter's direct successor.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/index.htm

With love in Christ.

Answer 8

There are a lot of misconceptions about the Catholic church, its faith, and beliefs. It is the founding church and has been around for 2000 years. You will find a lot of protestants (those that left the Catholic beliefs and formed their own faith) who love to knock down Catholic beliefs. They will say that catholics do not follow the bible. Quite the contrary. Often one bible verse is quoted to discredit Catholics, without looking at the rest of the passage.

Answer 9

One of the first major differences between Catholicism and Protestant Christianity is the issue of the sufficiency and authority of Scripture. Protestant Christians believe that the Bible alone is the sole source of God’s special revelation to mankind, and as such it teaches us all that is necessary for our salvation from sin. Protestant Christians view the Bible as the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. This belief is commonly referred to as “Sola Scriptura” and is one of the “Five Solas” (sola being Latin for “alone”) that came out of the Protestant Reformation as summaries of some of the important differences between Catholics and Protestants.

While there are many verses in the Bible that establish it’s authority and it’s sufficiency for all matters of faith and practice, one of the clearest is 2 Timothy 3:16 where we see that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” Catholics on the other hand reject the doctrine of “Sola Scriptura” and do not believe that the Bible alone is sufficient. They believe that both the Bible and sacred Roman Catholic tradition are equally binding upon the Christian. Many Roman Catholics doctrines, such as purgatory, praying to the saints, worship or veneration of Mary, etc. have little or no basis at all in Scripture, but are based solely on Roman Catholic traditions. Essentially the Roman Catholic Church’s denial of “Sola Scriptura” and their insistence that both the Bible and their “Sacred Tradition” are equal in authority undermines the sufficiency, authority and completeness of the Bible. The view of Scripture is at the root of many of, if not all, the differences between Catholics and Protestant Christians.

Answer 10

Catholics ARE Christians.
It's called a denomination. It means that within Christianity they differ from other groups eg. they have the Pope as the head of their church.